


The Tower is Haunted.

by charybdis_nerdrage



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Corvo cannot sleep, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Low Chaos Corvo Attano, Selectively Mute Corvo Attano, Very self indulgent one shot, headcanon heavy, somewhat canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28086852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charybdis_nerdrage/pseuds/charybdis_nerdrage
Summary: Sleep seems to escape Corvo Attano yet again, and again he finds himself laying restless on his bed. In an anxious and exhausted haze, he goes out of his way to check on Emily in the late hours of the night. Turns out, she isn't any closer to sleep than him.(An extremely self indulgent self care fic for me, that I've decided to share for the good of the people)
Relationships: Corvo Attano & Emily Kaldwin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	The Tower is Haunted.

**Author's Note:**

> (The title isn't super related I just think it kinda works, idk)

The Hound Pits Pub was dark inside, no lantern flickering in a servants window, nor the dim glow of the fireplace in the bar. There was no creak of footsteps coming down the stairs, or the soft brush of a broom warding off the dust and grime on the floor. The weepers in the sewer below had been taken care of that evening, so the gargling of blood-filled throats no longer filled the lower part of the stairwell. The thick green vines attached to the old bricks of the building rustled in the wind, the calm waves crashed against the graffiti-littered docks, washing rocks and whale bones up onto the rocky shore. Emily Kaldwin’s crumbling tower stood level with the bar, stood firm and untouchable on the Dunwall shore. The world felt at peace, just for a moment. The plague was almost miles away, the rats below fighting for every morsel of weeper meat felt so far away, but peace was the opposite of what churned in Corvo Attano’s mind. He sat on his small bed, set in the corner of his attic-turned quarters.

The song of the bone-charms hanging from his belt, which he had hung on the back of a chair with his coat, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The uneasiness of the night crept over him. He wanted to see Emily, just to make sure she was okay. But it was void knows how late, she was most likely sleeping. He would feel guilty to wake her up, she had been through so much and she deserved the rest. 

He looked out of the foggy window at the other side of the room, the moonlight shown through it, making the dust in the air sparkle. Corvo sighed deeply and pushed his hair back, trying his hardest to clear his head of all thoughts, like Jessamine had told him.

There it was, the thought of Jessamine. Just the sound of her name in the confines of his mind made his heart ache. He had failed her, and he had failed the entirety of Dunwall in return. He wished to go home, but there was no home anymore. Serkonos was no place for him anymore, and Dunwall Tower was occupied by someone he had once called an equal. He should have been angry, he had every right to be, but he just felt tired. He was so, so tired. Months of torture, months of staying silent and stubborn, and what did it all lead to? Now he was the weapon of men he barely trusted, in a dog-fighting pub where everyone kept a wary eye on him alone. 

A distressed noise left his throat as he pushed himself up from the bed. He walked towards the open window, which opened up into a long, cobbled together bridge, which led directly to Emily’s tower. His bare feet made no noise as he walked along the cold, ridged metal. 

The night breeze felt nice for the first time in weeks, he was not crawling around the rooftops with a knife in hand, now he was just watching the large moon sit still in the black clouds, shining a dim light upon the pub. He walked towards Emily’s tower and hesitated, his hand hovering over the doorknob. He really shouldn’t wake her, she needed rest. So, just to check on her, he stooped down and looked through the keyhole. 

Callista was fast asleep, thankfully. He would never hear the end of it if he was caught. When his eyes drifted to Emily’s bed, he noticed she wasn’t present. His heart rate spiked, his hand jumped for the doorknob and opened it without a sound. He scanned the room frantically, his shoulders stiffening in fear. No, she couldn’t be gone, this can’t happen again, he can’t lose Emily again-

He found her curled up under the desk, her head in her knees. She immediately noticed the light from the door and stared at Corvo with wide, anxious eyes. Almost on instinct, she crawled out from under the desk and sprung onto Corvo, pulling him into a tight hug. He shushed her and hoisted her up into his arms, turned back, and allowed the door to quietly shut behind him. Emily tightened her grip around him, she was scared. He set her down in one of the old chairs in his quarters and lit the small flame in one of the lanterns. She hadn’t said a word, which was odd for her. She just watched Corvo light a few lanterns and hugged her knees to her chest.

“Corvo…?” She spoke softly, her voice tired and frightened.

He looked at her with tilted brows, concern written over his face.

“I think the tower’s haunted,” She mumbled, glancing away from him. Corvo hesitated and threw a glance to the tower out of the window. “I saw a ghost, I’m not lying.”

Corvo nodded, he couldn’t find the words to comfort her, but she understood. He reached over to hold her hand in his. She sniffled and let her feet back down to the floor, now slightly hunched over.

“It had black eyes,” She continued. “It had black eyes, it didn’t speak, it only watched…” 

Corvo frowned deeply. He prayed it wasn’t the Outsider, that bastard should be his burden, not Emily’s. Corvo nodded slightly and sighed. 

“Corvo, can I stay here? Just for the night? I’m scared to go back to the tower.”

Corvo hummed in reply, her eyes filled with visible relief as she hopped off of the chair and took a spot on the crooked rug beside Corvo’s bed. He walked back towards the window to the catwalk and motioned to her that he would only take one moment, she nodded scooted closer to the lantern. Corvo felt eyes on his back as he stepped back out into the night. This time however, the feeling made him glow with love and pride. He loved Emily with all of his heart, he wished Jessamine was here to see her.

He crept into the tower room yet again and wrote out a short note for Callista, in case she awoke to a missing Emily. He came back to his quarters with a quilt and a pillow, and Emily was watching the flickering lantern flame. He placed the pillow on the floor and tucked the quilt around her. She giggled a little and rolled towards Corvo as he sat on his own bed. Her eyes slid shut, and Corvo reached over to put out the lanterns.

“Corvo?” Her small voice spoke up. “Can you leave one of the lights on, please?” He nodded and left the one closest to Emily lit. She smiled. Her grin faded as she began to immediately doze off.

Emily must have been tired.

The knowledge that Emily was okay put Corvo’s heart at ease, if only for the smallest moment. Either way, it was just enough to finally put him to sleep. Thankfully, he wasn’t brought to the void, or another twisted nightmare of his own creation. Finally, the void granted him a dreamless night, one where he could finally allow his tired bones to relax. 

**Author's Note:**

> It is currently 12 am, I have not proofread this, I am going to post it and look at it in the morning. I know I have a big fic project to work on but uh... this is more important right now okay? I need these two to be happy, for my sake. I really enjoyed writing this, so I might write more fluffy Dishonored oneshots in the future. Y'know, for the good of the people.
> 
> My tumblr is @charybdis-nerdrage for anyone curious, check me out maybe...


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